The manufacture, service and/or repair of metal components, such as gas turbine engines, often times require localized heating of specific areas of the components. This is done, for example, to allow for stress relief, metal forming and/or brazing applications. Localized heating is preferred when processing the entire component could adversely affect the metallurgical properties of the component. Warping and other forms of deformation are also to be avoided.
Integrally bladed rotors are used in some gas turbine engines and are expected to be used even more as engine designs continue to evolve. Upon original manufacture, all integrally bladed rotor material is heat treated to obtain the desired mechanical properties prior to finish dimension machining.
During blade repair operations, it may be necessary to locally heat treat the repaired areas of the integrally bladed rotors that have been exposed to elevated temperatures. In the finished machine condition, conventional heat treatment is not always possible due to concerns with distortion. Additionally, conventional heat treatment of a finished machined integrally bladed rotor may create unnecessary risk due to the potential for surface contamination throughout the entire part. Because of these concerns, local heat treatment has been considered to be a desirable option.